In the game of American Football (or “gridiron”, as it is sometimes referred to in other countries), a defense can be very effective if it anticipates the strategy of the offense by studying the body language and body movement “tells” of the quarterback prior to the start of a play. As a result, the defense will shift in a particular direction before a play even begins; leaving all of the intended receivers of the offense well covered by the time the quarterback is ready to throw the ball.
One of these body movement “tells” is the undesirable habit of a quarterback positioning his head/helmet in the direction of the intended receiver immediately after taking possession of the football. This is commonly referred to in football as “telegraphing the pass”. Telegraphing, like other readable body movement, creates an advantage for the defenders of a forward pass play because defenders are trained to run towards, and defend more vigorously, areas of the playing field that are directionally aligned with the quarterback's head/helmet. This is often referred to as “reading the quarterback's eyes”.
While “eyes” can be covered with shaded visor, head and body motion is not so easily disguisable. It is therefore desirable for a quarterback to find a way to control head motion, body language, and body movement to avoid helping the defense anticipate potential pass plays. Taking this concept a step further, the most skilled quarterbacks are not only are able to avoid tells by controlling their body language and movement, but they may also be able to “trick” the defense by faking a tell, such as looking in a particular direction when the play is intended to move in the opposite direction. A well-known master of this type of skill, although in his case it was applied to the game of basketball, was successful point guard Magic Johnson.
Developing a quarterback's ability to intentionally misdirect the defense with head position and body language is not an easy task. One major challenge is that it is counterintuitive for the quarterback to look in a particular direction while an intended pass play progresses in an opposite direction. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a specialized discipline and practice pattern in the form of a training program to assist a quarterback in perfecting this type of skill Ideally the program would require repetitive drills and would incorporate a specialized device for recording progress as well as for giving the quarterback immediate feedback based on the performance of the drills. The goals of the training program in conjunction with the device would include training a quarterback to look right when passing left, to look left when passing right, and to look left or right when passing towards the center of the field, ultimately resulting in the creation of a “Magic Johnson” of football.
The foregoing example of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.